When a building is out of scale with anything nearby, there's often a reason - opponents made sure there wouldn't be a sequel. So it went on the craggy north slope of Telegraph Hill, where a member of the Ghirardelli family in 1940 filled an empty lot with a squat residential tower accented by suave Art Moderne details. Among the dismayed neighbors: architect Gardner Dailey, whose attorney suggested placing a 40-foot height limit on future hillside structures. The rest is history and, at 290 Lombard, unobstructed views that can't be beat.